Automobile direction indicator



I. B. BLAIR, DECD. 0.1111111111,ADMINISTRATRIX.

AUTOMOBILE DIRECTION INDICATOR.

. APPucATioN FILEDSEPT. 20, 1917.

Patented July 25, 1922.

a'sHEETs-SHEET 1.

JB. BLAIR, DECD. -0l M. BLAIR, ADMINISTRATRIX. AUTOMOBILE DIRECTION INDICATOR.

Patented July 25, 1922.

F APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 2o, I9I I. 1,4241) IO.

. a SHEETS-SHEET z.

O 1 .N/ l B, j.

LIB. B'LAIR, DECD.

o. M. BLAm, ADMlNIsTRATmx. AUTOMOBILE DIRECTION INDICATOR.

APPLICATION FlLED SEPT. 20,1917. 1,424,070. a Patented July 25, 1922o 3 SHEETS-SHEET 3. E?? 7 Per @tten JAMES BjBLAR, 0F DECATUR, LLNS; ORA MUELLER BLAIR*ADMIINISTRATRIXIOF SAID JAMES' B. BLAIR, DECEASED. i

AUTOMOBILE DIRECTIGN INDICATOR.

Marmo..

Speecation of Letters Patent.

raremeaJmy-aa 1922.

Applcatonled September 20,1917. Serial No.`192,268.

a full, clear, concise, and exact descriptioi'i,l

reference being had tothe accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification. t

The present invention relates broadly to signalling and has particular reference to an improved automobile direction indicator'.

An object of my invention is to provide an indicator of the class described adapted to indicate both in the front and rear or an automobile the direction which the driver intends to take. My invention is adapted for disposition upon the radiator and upon the rear mud-guard to indicate direction, therear signal being provided with a stop indicating arm operatedby the application of the brake.

Another object of my invention is toprovide a device of the character described which is electro-magnetically operated, but may be mechanically operated, if so desired.

A further object .of my invention is to pro vide an indicator of the class described which may be easily attached to any motor vehicle and which, while the signal is snfiiciently conspicuous to attract attention when necessary, presents a neatfinished appear-y ance on the vehicle and does not destroy the generally neat appearance of the macliine.

Other object-s and advantages will appear from the vfollowing detail 'description and the claims, taken with an inspectionl of theI accompanying drawings.

Figure 1 is a rear elevation of a signaling deviceembodying the improvements of my invention;

Figure Qfis a side elevation of the same with t-he cover shown in sec-tion;

'Fi ire 3 is, a detached elevational view f of the inside surface of the rear wall;

Figure 4 isa fragmental verticalsection,

lever mechanisms being shown in elevation; Figure 5 isa diagrammatic view of the preferred arrangement of circuits;

Figure 6 is adetail perspective View of the signaling device applied to the rear mud guard of an automobile;

Figure 7 is a rear elevation of a modiiel form of my invention; and

AFigure 8 is aside elevation of the same.

lReferring more particularly to the drawings, the base of the indicator is designated 10 and is mounted on the rear mud guard 11 byvmeans of a bracket 12. .It is intended that the indicating deviceoflmy invention he applied in one form, to the rear mud guard, and in another form tobedescribed angle piece 14 servingto connect and rigidly support the wall 13 oirsaidbase.` .nvintermediate wall 15 is provided and a front wall 16, said walls being formed of Asheet metal. Angle pieces 17 and I18 serve to connect and rigidly support .the walls 15 and -16 onthe base 10 by means of rivets or thelilre. The walls 13, 15 and 16 are maintained in rigid spacedrelation to 4each other by means of sleeve members 21 carried by retaining screws 22, ythelatter pass ing through the ywalls 15, 16 and engaging with the wall 13, as best shown in .Figure 2. rIVhereare four of these screws provided, one ateachcorner ofthe device, but it is, of course, understood that any numberor arrangement of the` fastening screws `may b e used. The space between the walls 15 and 16 at the top, is closed `bymeans of a cover member y23 for the purpose of eX cluding dust from the interior of the device. The top 28 terminates at Qtas best shown in Figure 2, to permit projection of the indicatingarmsv as will be hereinafter described. 4

On the rear lsignal member there'are dis-l posed three distinct -fand independently members being for the purpose Yor indcating direction `and the other .member kfor the purpose ofin'dicating the intention of v operating yindicating members, two ofthese K detail.

the driver to come to a stop, the latter indi-- eating means being electrically connected to the brake mechanism of the vehicle so that when the brake is applied an indication will be given at the rear notifying those who follow that the driver intends to stop.

To simplify the description l will first describe in detail the direction indicating mechanism with the assumption that the stop indicating device is omitted, as would be the case in the form of the device as applied to the hood or radiator of an automobile. As best seen from Figure 1, the direction indicating element comprises arms 27 and 28 pivotally mounted on crank-shafts 29 and 30, the latter passing directly through the rear wall 13 and the intermediate wall 15, said walls serving as bearing means for said shafts. rlhe arms 27 and 28 may be formed in the general shape of a hand so as to be conspicuous when projected from the housing. The outer edges of the hands or arms 27 and 28 are provided with cap flanges 31 and 32, respectively, said flanges serving to close the openings in the sides of the housing when said arms are withdrawn from indicating position. neat appearance as well ras excluding dust and dirt from the interior of the housing as much as possible.

Crank members 33 and 34 are formed on the free ends of the shafts 29 and 30 respectively, said cranks being connected by means of links 35 and 36 to the long arms 37 and 38 of bell crank levers 39 and 407 respectively,` said hell crank levers being pivoted at the points 41, 41 to the rear face of the wall 13. The other arms of the bell crank levers are pivotally connected by means of link members 42 and 43 to the cores 44 and 45 of solenoids 46 and 47 mounted on the base 10 behind the wall 13. Binding nuts 48, 48 serve to connect the solenoids to short pieces of metal which are in turn connected to the links 42 and 43 as best shown in Figure 1. The solenoids 46 and 47 receive current from a circuit as shown in Figure 5 which is described in detail hereinafter. A coil spring 50 of the tension type is disposed between the arms 37 and 38 of the bell crank levers and is connected thereto to exert a force inwardly thereon. The spring serves another purpose which will hereinafter be set forth in The form of the invention thus far described is adapted for disposition on the front of the machine to indicate to pedestrians and others the direction which the driver intends to take. There are other lfeatures which are embodied with the forward Ysignal and which will be described in de- This presents a V anism therefor is supplemented with a stop indicating arm 52, best shown in Figure 4 and shown in dotted lines in Figure 1. The arm or hand 52 is adapted to be projected vertically through an opening 53 formed in the top of the housingfor the purpose of indicating te the drivers of the vehicles following that the driver of the iirst machine intends to slow down or stop. rlhe projecting or actuating mechanism forl the arm 52 comprises preferably a pair of solenoids 55v mounted on the base 10 between tl e soienoids 46 and 47, said solenoids 55 receiving the cores 56 of an armature 57, said armature 57 being connected at 58 to a link member 59. The link member 59 is connected at its free end to a rocking arm 60 pivot-ed at 70 to the rear wall 13 of the housing. The arm 59 is connected with the spring 50 at the point 62. Thus, the spring 50 serves as means for returning either the arms 2.7 and 28 or the arm 52 after an actuation by their respective solenoids. rlhe rocking arm 60 is connected at 63 to a link 64, the lower end of said link being connected to a crank 65 carried by forwardly extending shaft 66, the inner end of said shaft carrying an arm G7 connected at its free end te a link 68, the opposite end of the link being connected to a combination lever 69 pivotally mounted at 70 to the front face of the wall 13. Motion is imparted from the combination lever 69 to the stop indicating arm 52 by means et a lazytongs designated A. in its entirety and composed of interconnected links 72. rlhe lazy-tongs A is anchored at its upper end at 73 to the front face of the wall 1 3, the lower end of the lazy-tongs being connected, by means of the pin 74, to the arm as best shown in Figure 4. The pin 74 ez;- tends through a slot 75 formed in the intermediate wall 15, a pin 76 carried by the arm 52 and arranged in said slot serving to guide the arm in its vertical movement.

A hood H is provided, the same being shown in section in Figure 2, said hood being adapted to house the solenoids and to protect the lever mechanism from the rear wall, the top wall It of said housing extending over the wall 13 and the space between said wall and the intermediate wall 15 to prevent the entrance of dust. Fastening screws 76 serve to prevent dislodgment of the hood H. Of course, the hood extends along the sides of the housing to close the same.

A lamp 77 of any suitable design is mounted on the front wall of the indicator' and automatic mechanism is provided for periodically lighting the lamp to illuminate the indicating hand when extended.` As the construction ofthe device provides for ejecting signal arms from three sides thereof7 it is quite important to mount the lamp 77 in a position to providethenecessary illumination for any one or all of the arms should they be operated to move into visible position simultaneously. 'The lamp 77 therefore possesses the distinguishing featurefof directing the rays againstthe facefof each signal arm from outside the casing, which feature permits a single lamp to give sulicient light tor each arm. The circuit for controlling the operation of the solenoid and the illumination of the hand lis illustrated diagrammatically in Figure 5. The circuit includes a. primary battery or a storage battery B, one end of which is grounded to the chasis of the automobile at The other end ofthebattery is led to a spring arm 7 8, the free ends of which carry buttons 7 9 and 80.

The solenoid 16 and 47 are interposedin conductors 18, the free ends of the conductors being grounded to the automobile chas sis as at g and g the opposite ends kof said conductors terminating beneath the free ends of the spring arms 78 as `at 81 and 82, respectively. Thus, it will be seen that upon the depression of one or the other of the buttons 7 9 or 80 the solenoids 16 or 47, respectively will be energized. This action will draw the cores 44 and 45 into the solenoid and through the bell crank and `link members impartvrotation to the shafts orBO, as the case may be, to give an indication of direction. rlhe solenoids are interposed in a conductor 83, one end of the conductor being connected at 84 to one side of the battery B and the other end'of the lconductor terminating at S5 beneath the Vbrake pedal SG, the pedal being grounded as at S7 to the chassis. Ak spring member 89 is carried by the pedal S6 to engage the terminal 85. Thus when the brakes are applied contact will be formed between the spring member 89 and the terminal 85, causing the current to flow from the battery through' the conductor 83 to the solenoid and returning 4through the ground (1 back to the battery.

1n order to illuminate the indicating arms when projected from the housing` I provide the lamp 77 hereinbefore referred to. The lamp 77 is interposed in a conductor 90 connected at 91 to the conductor 83. The conductor 90 forms a common distributing means to connect the lamp with the circuit closures c, c c, and such circuit closures being best shown in Figure 1 comprising strips 92 carried by the wall 13 beneath the upper ends of the cores 44- and 115 and the armature 57. Thus it will be seen that when one or the other ofthe solenoids is energized one or the other of the circuit closures c, c or c will be closed, lighting the lamp. The cores and lever mechanisms are all grounded to the automobile chassis through the mudguard so that no conductors are needed for indingtheconnection between one side of the circuit closures .and the ground ofthe battery other than the frame of the automobile.

ln Figure 7 'I have illustrated a modified form of my invention, the base 10 being provided and the intermediate wall 18. The wall 13 corresponds to the wall 13 in the first form of my invention described. In this fform ofthe invention "I provide a modified form of mechanism Ifor projecting the stop indicating signal member from the housing, this mechanismcomprising a rocker arm pivotallymounted at 70 o n the bearing member 71. The inner end of the rocker arm 60 is connected by means of a linlrQ to the top portion 56 of the'armature 57 of the electromagnets 55. The op-v posite end of the rocker arm 60 is pivotally connected to a link 61, which is in turn pivotally connected to the crank portion 62. The cranl; 62 is mountedin `connection with alever', said levervbeing in turn connected by means of a. lilik 64 to the signal member 65', which corresponds to the signal member 52 ofthe first form of my invention described. The lever 63 is bent at right angles and continues through the intermediate'walll, the free end portion of said leverbeing connected to the crank 62. An elongatedfbearing 66 is provided so that the `mechanism does not interfere with the mechanism ifor the direction indicators,

which in this instance are identical in conk struction with the form of the invention hereinbefore described. These have not been shown in Figure 7, in order to avoid confusion. A. spiral spring member S is provided to assist in returning'the armature and the signal member to normal condition after an indicating operation is completed. The

electro-magnets may be energized in the same manner 1n lwhich the electromagnets are energized in the {irst'form of the inven- .tion hereinbefore described. Of course, it

will be understood that the illuminating means and other attachments employed in the preferred form of the invention may be applied in the modified form.

From the foregoing taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, it will be clear thatI have provided a simple, compact and eiiicient signalling device for automobiles and other purposes, which is cheap to manufacture, strong and durable and easily installed on any modern motor vehicle. Various methods of mounting the housing may be employed, but I have not shown any other than the bracket 12 in view of the fact that it is optional with the manufacturer and user whether one or another fastening means is to be employed. In the actual device very little space is taken up by the installation of the same and the arms project when in signalling position, but a few inches from the housing, sutlicient to attract attention and still suiiciently inconspicuous not to detract 'from the beauty or mar the lines of the automobile. It 'will be apparent that by the provision of the lazy-tongs mechanism a stroke is imparted to the hand which woud not be otherwise obtainable from an electromagnet or solenoid of such a small size as that shown. The device requires no attention whatsoever and no injurious eiiect caused by the heat of the electromagnet after an extended term of use will be had owing to the fact that the whole device is of metal with the exception of the wall 13 which is of non-inflammable insulating material, but 3 or l amperes are required for operation and therefore the danger from short circuit is reduced to a minimum. Any other forni of lamp may be provided other than that shown in the drawings but it is desirable that a hood be employed on the lamp which tends to deflect the rays in radial lines so as to strike the free hand as projected from the housing. the front of the machine as hereinbefore pointed out omits the stop indicating hand. My indicator as described is adapted to indicate the movement of an automobile either to the right or to the left, or a slowing down of the automobile, or. no motion at all. And I am enabled to provide a very compact and sightly device by reason of my improved construction and the method of operating, housing and illuminating the several indicating members. If desired, the device may be mechanically operated instead of electrically. The gist of the present invention not only resides in the various parts employed, but also in the arrangement of those parts whereby a device vis provided having the parts most apt to be damaged by moisture, grease and dirt disposed in compartments closed off from atmospheric influences. I consider the provision of these compartments novel, as it segregates the operating mechanism from the signal arms which are constructed to resist severe weather condi- Uf course, the device used on.

tions. I reserve the right to make changes in the detail structure of the device such as do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

I claim:

I. In an indicator, the combination with a plurality' of electromagnets adapted to be actuated upon change of motion of a vehicle, of a series of levers connected at one end to said electromagnets, crank arms connected at the opposite end to said levers, signal members on said crank arms indicating change of motion either lateral or cessational, two of said signal members projecting outwardly 'for lateral change and the other projecting upwardly for cessational change and common spring means for assisting the return of said signal members.

2. In a signal of the class described, a housing having an intermediate wall, a signal member for indicating change of motion, said signal member being adapted to be projected bodily in a vertical direction above the top of said housing, a pin journaled in said intermediate wall, electrically operated mea-ns on one side of said wall connected to said pin for imparting a rotary motion thereto, lever mechanism on the other side of said wall connecting said pin and said signal member, said lever mechanism moving said signal member vertically.

3. In a signal of the class described, a housing having an intermediate wall therein, a signal member normally concealed within said housing and adapted to be projected thereout of into visible position, means for actuating said signal member into visible position, lever mechanism between said signal member and said means, said intermediate wall provided with a groove therein, and means on said signal member for riding in said groove to guide the signal member in its movement into and out of said housing.

In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name this 8th day of September A. D.

JAMES B. BLAIR. 

